Win streak ends in Montreal: Performance “just didn’t have the same zip to it”

Andres Romero fired the Montreal Impact in front after just three minutes and Jack McInerney doubled the home side’s advantage before the halftime break as the New England Revolution’s five-game winning streak and seven-game unbeaten run both ended on Saturday night at Stade Saputo.

The 2-0 loss marked the first time the Revs were shut out since their last defeat – a similar 2-0 setback at D.C. United almost two months ago. New England had racked up 19 goals in the seven games since, but the Revs simply couldn’t find the necessary spark to break down a resolute Montreal side on this occasion.

“It was one of those nights where every pass was a little bit off. It just didn’t have the same zip to it,” said Revs head coach Jay Heaps. “To break a team down, you’ve got to get things to go your way a little bit. You’ve got to credit a team when they do a nice job.”

Heaps praised the Impact’s attacking quartet of Marco Di Vaio, Issey Nakajima-Farran, McInerney and Romero, admitting that those four players “shredded” the Revs in a dominant first-half performance. While the visitors maintained a slight advantage in possession through 45 minutes, Montreal held a distinct advantage in shots.

It was Romero’s goal in the third minute which set the tone for the opening stanza, linking up with Di Vaio to put the Revolution in an early hole. From there it was an uphill battle and the Revs were never quite able to recover.

“You can’t give a team anything in this league,” Heaps said. “Unfortunately, we gave quite a bit to Montreal and they took it. Teams give away things all the time, but sometimes you don’t take advantage. I thought Montreal did an excellent job taking advantage of our slow start. They were ready, and I think that first goal showed.”

Now the Revs will turn their attention to next weekend’s home meeting with the New York Red Bulls, which represents the Revolution’s final regular-season match before an extended break during the group stage of the World Cup. In preparing for that match, Heaps will aim to strike the proper balance between extracting valuable lessons from Saturday night’s loss without lingering too long on a poor performance.

“We’ll have to look at it and see what we could’ve done better. You can’t throw away a loss and not get better from it,” he said. “But at the same time, I don’t want to dwell on it too long, because I don’t think it was our best stuff. We’ve got to look at the film and see where we can be better going into the next game.”